Sunday, May 29, 2011

All of that pretty, "pool-colored" yarn I posted about 2 months ago has turned into this:

Eleven, lovely, crocheted clutches! My good friend, Kate is getting married today and her bridesmaids and other special women at the wedding will be getting these. Aren't they lucky?? ;)

I found the pattern for the Granny Stripe Boutique Bag at Tangled Happy. This was Sara's first pattern, isn't it great? She is always finding the best crochet projects on the web--if you need inspiration just go there!

Almost all of these were done with your basic Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn, one was done with some Lion Brand Cotton and two were done with Cotton Ease. Kate had given her bridesmaids some paint chips in various shades of blue, green and purple and gave them free reign to just find a dress that would match. Isn't that brave? So I got a set of paint chips as well and got to search high and low for the perfect colors of yarn--such torture! I did come out on the other side realizing that there is a serious lack of teal yarn out there and lots of pink yarn.

I am so happy I was able to find the colors that I did. And I'm glad I don't have to pick my favorite one! Kate claimed the pretty seafoam one between the bright turquoise and purple ones (upper right).

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Six years of T-ball and Coach Pitch will get you one thing: baseball. Real, honest-to-goodness baseball with stealing, score keeping,spitting and scratching. The jury is still out on how I feel about this. One moment I am loathing that it is beginning to feel like a part time job (and terrified that this is just the tip of a giant iceberg) and the next I am loving watching Simon grow into becoming a baseball player.

Have you heard of Inspired Ideas Magazine? It might just be one of the best ideas on the web--a (primarily) web-based magazine that is chock-full of clever ideas, things to craft and great tutorials. I don't remember how I found her Christmas issue this past winter...but I poured over it and made several things from it. My sister and I spent and entire day making incredible Advent Calendars with mini muffin tins and scrap booking supplies (seriously, they are incredible) and a garland of mini gifts.

Truly, there are great ideas in her magazines and on her blog. In celebration of the Birthday Issue of Inspire Co., Amy Powers is hosting a Birthday Treasury Swap! I just got information on my partner--and I am really excited to create a shadow box for her. I love finding little things...and now I need to search for a little inspiration.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

I love giving a homemade gift. And when I can give a homemade gift that someone will LOVE and when I can get that gift done with little to no stress, that is the best. Last month I started working on this:

Can you tell what this is? Have you seen it before? I don't know how I came about this but I bookmarked it ages ago, waiting for the perfect recipient. And then I met them! And it was nearly going to be a housewarming present...but I didn't have time. A few other occasions came and went but when Kate's bridal shower at church was on the horizon I just had to buckle-down and get it done.

It was kind of hard to give it up--but when Kate threw back her head and laughed, I knew it was going to the right home. I mean, they actually use their XBOX for more than just a glorified movie machine.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

I love making things for people. Usually, those people are very small and indifferent but they have appreciative parents that make it worthwhile. With few exceptions, the crocheting I have done has been for babies. But this project is for a big girl, a very dear friend. I don't want to reveal it until it is completely done, but it has everything to do with this:

Gobs and gobs of Sugar'n Cream, 100% Cotton with some Cotton Ease that might make the cut. I've got this lovely palette of bright "pool colors" (that is what I am calling them) to work with and am only a little sad that I have not found more colors that will work. Not all of these are right--there is a light blue that is too muted, along with a few others and I only need one ball of that chartreuse. But it all looks so happy in this box!

Friday, March 11, 2011

I know I need to buy enough yarn for my projects. There are friendly signs in yarn shops, it says so on the labels of even the cheapest of yarns. The problem is, I'm not always buying yarn with a certain project in mind. That rarely happens...because what fun is that??

Recently I was loading up on GOBS of 100% cotton yarn in blues and greens for a very special project. There was a great sale online that I took advantage of and a recent trip to Wenatchee (where they have Craft Warehouse) on the 3-day weekend has the cupboard bustin'. I picked up some pretty teal yarn that was on clearance for $2.99, not thinking it was right for the project but because it was so shiny and cheap! Once I was home I came across this pattern (sorry, you'll need to log in to ravelry.com) and knew just what yarn I would be using. It was going super-quick...and then the yarn ran out.

I knew it would...just not so soon. Luckily, my dad saved the day and picked up more yarn! (Sadly, it wasn't until I was double what you see here that I realized I picked it up and started going the wrong direction. So it is on the back burner while it thinks about what it has done).

It is completely ridiculous that I allowed this to happen. You would think after my stocking drama a few months back I would have learned my lesson.

Back when I was a knitter (4-5 years ago?) I bought a bunch of chunky, wool yarn to knit and felt stockings for the (then) three of us. I never got around to it and this fall I thought it would be the perfect project for crochet. I found this pattern and got to work! And promptly ran out of green. I had 1/2 of what I needed. The shop I bought it from was closed, but it is a pretty common yarn so I ordered some from Paradise Fibers. I had it in my head that it was "Christmas Green" so that is what I ordered. Either I was wrong of this is the most inconsistent dye ever. I had no other option but to way over-think it and make 4 different hexagons.

BUT I got it done and sometimes that is what counts. It is HUGE so I think I may felt it still. I am waiting to finish Owen's (that is a post in itself...I wanted to do a snowflake in his hexagons and ended up hunting down a Vanna White afghan book for a pattern) before I decide for sure.

Friday, February 11, 2011

I was really looking forward to yesterday...it was February 10th and the first time since my new camera came that I could do "10 on 10". The idea is that you take one photo, every hour for 10 hours and I was stoked. I was ready. I was excited. I took my first photo and then forgot. But then I remembered and took a bunch of photos and then forgot again. But who really cares, right? It is a start and I can still post about what I photographed. Enjoy!

This is our barista, we just call him "Zach" and have been doing so for years--way before The Hangover was a thing. Being the 10th it was a "Pay Day Mocha Day" in our house--going to Daily Grind on pay day keeps our spending money on mochas do a reasonable amount. 20oz Frappe, no whip!

I picked Owen up from preschool. What did you do? Idunno. I can't wait for the teen years.

He did show me some of the building toys he had played with earlier. When he wasn't playing "Spiderman Family" with S & J. I wish I could find out more about that!

Look what I made, mom!! I don't think Simon ever did one of these, if he did, I don't have it. Maybe I should laminate this one now that I know how fast those little hands grow.

Flowers at work! What a treat :) Our Council President brought these by--and they are really brightening my days. Hyacinth and primroses I think? I should really learn these things. They smell so, so good.

Last one, a posed shot...testing how well my camera will shoot inside on a gloomy day with hardly any windows. Not too bad for a point-and-shoot. His brother squinked up one eye in photos for YEARS...Owen has just recently started to do it. Nature? Nurture?

Saturday, January 22, 2011

The crocheting has become obsessive. The good news? It is relatively quick which means I actually can finish a project before I get bored. There have been loads of hats, booties animals and little booties being made. Luckily, the last four months have been chock-full of friends and families having babies so everything is finding a good home.
I did feel like I was near getting in a rut so I decided to try something new. A market bag!

About 5 dc in, I suspected I would never use it, but thought it was still cute. About 6 rows in (of about 35) I knew I was going to go bonkers with the repetition, but I also knew I would be done that night and could suffer through.

The yarn is Sugar 'n Cream in the Lime Stripes colorway. I am a sucker for this yarn--it is inexpensive and I can buy it locally. This is my first time using the stripes--admittedly, it is more appropriate for a more "solid" project like a scarf--and I think that next time I will look for one that uses completely different colors so it doesn't seen like plain-old variegated yarn. But I was pretty excited that each color was equal to one round. Good planning on my part (as if)! Before I stretched it a bit, it was all curly and looked like a pile of lettuce.

In case you are curious, I started with this pattern. But then when I got to round 6 I did not read carefully and just repeated round 5 about 18 times or so, after which I realized my mistake and just decided to wing it from there!